Systems and methods for communication

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method for using a toy for communicating with a client terminal. The method comprises encoding at least one interacting information as at least one flickering control instruction and using a toy element having a light emitting unit for emitting light according to the at least one flickering control instruction, thereby transmitting the interacting information to a client terminal. The client terminal is configured for capturing the emitted light using an image capturing device and decoding the at least one interacting information therefrom.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to toys and,more particularly, but not exclusively, to toys communication, such as acommunication between a toy and a client terminal.

Children's toys in the form of traditional dolls, puppets, stuffedanimals and the like have been around for centuries and are an enduringfavorite among children—particularly among toddler-age children. A doll,stuffed animal or another similar toy can provide a much-neededimaginary friend, a pet or a playmate for a child who occasionally getslonely or bored and also can be used as learning aids. For example, suchplaymate toys can also help a child to express himself or herself and tolearn basic social skills that foster personality development andoverall social adjustment.

During the last years interactive toys which designed to communicatewith the child and/or with other toys have been developed. Suchinteractive toy, which may be in the form of a stuffed-animal, a doll oran action figure and may include a wireless communication/identificationunit for communicating with toys in the proximity thereof.

Examples for interactive toys are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,773,322;6,773,344; 6,290,566; 6,206,745; 6,022,273; 6,075,195 and 5,752,280 toGabai et al. They are further described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,066,781 toWeston, U.S. Pat. No. 7,217,192 to Nishiyama, and U.S. Pat. No.7,131,887 to Hornsby et al.

These interactive toys may be connected, via a designated wireless link,such as Wi-Fi connection or infrared (IR) connection, or via a networkconnection, such as local area network (LAN) connection, to a computingdevice, such as a home computer, with respective wireless abilities, anInteractive Television (TV) set-top box or a wireless router whichprovides Internet connectivity for the toy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method for using a toy for communicating with aclient terminal. The method comprises a) encoding at least oneinteracting information as at least one flickering control instructionand b) using a toy element having a light emitting unit for emittinglight according to the at least one flickering control instruction,thereby transmitting the interacting information to a client terminal.The client terminal is configured for capturing the emitted light usingan image capturing device and decoding the at least one interactinginformation therefrom.

Optionally, the toy element having a structure indicative of the atleast one interacting information.

More optionally, the toy is a member of a group consisting of aplurality of toys, each the toys being indicative of differentinteracting information.

Optionally, the method further comprises reading a uniquemachine-readable representation of the interacting information from alabel before the a).

More optionally, the client terminal is a personal computer, theinteracting information comprises a member selected from a groupconsisting of: a basic operation, an operating system operation, and apreprogrammed operation, the client terminal is configured for executingthe member after the b).

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method for using a reading device for communicatingwith an appliance. The method comprises a) using the reading device forreading a unique machine-readable representation associated with anappliance function and a visible indication associated with thefunction, b) encoding at least one instruction indicative of theappliance function, and c) wirelessly transmitting the at least oneinstruction to the appliance, thereby instructing the appliance toexecute the appliance function.

Optionally, the at least one instruction is a flickering controlinstruction, the transmitting comprising emitting light according to theflickering control instruction.

Optionally, the appliance is selected from a group consisting of apersonal computer (PC), a television (TV), a digital versatile disc(DVD), a compact disk (CD), a set-top box, a game console, a mediacenter console, a mobile telephone, a heater, an air conditioner, agarage door, and a kitchen appliance.

Optionally, the wirelessly transmitting emulates a remote controltransmission.

Optionally, the visible indication is a graphic icon depicting thefunction.

Optionally, the method further comprises presenting a challenge to auser before the a), wherein the appliance function is directing theappliance to present a reaction to the challenge.

Optionally, the reading comprises reading the unique machine-readablerepresentation from a menu comprising a plurality of machine-readablerepresentations associated with a plurality of appliance functions.

Optionally, the plurality of machine-readable representations associatedwith keys of a keyboard, the instructing comprises typing respective thekeys.

Optionally, the appliance is at least one of a television, a cellularphone and a set top box, the appliance function is selected from a groupconsisting of: changing a television channel, turning on the television,turning off the television, increasing the volume of the television,playing in an interactive gaming session, and participating in aninteractive learning session.

Optionally, the appliance is a player of a media comprising a pluralityof tagged segments; the appliance function is selecting a tagged segmentto be played by the player.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a toy for communicating with a client terminal. Thetoy comprises a body, a user interface configured for allowing a user toselect at least one interacting information, a memory configured forhosting at least one flickering control instruction associated with theat least one interacting information, and a light emitting unitconfigured for instructing a client terminal having an image capturingdevice by emitting light according to the at least one flickeringcontrol instruction toward the image capturing device.

Optionally, the body is a structure selected from a group consisting of:a stuffed-animal doll, a human-like doll, a toy shaped doll, and anaction figure doll.

Optionally, the user interface comprises a voice recording unitconfigured intercepting an audio signal representing the interactinginformation.

Optionally, the user interface is a sensing unit configured for readinga machine-readable representation of the interacting information fromthe label.

Optionally, the image capturing device is a webcam.

More optionally, the client terminal is connected to a remote server viaa computer server, the client terminal being configured for forwardingthe instructions to the client terminal.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a game kit for allowing a player to use a toy forcommunicating with a client terminal. The game kit comprises a toycommunication module configured for execution on a client terminalassociated with an image capturing device and at least one toy elementconfigured for emitting at least one sequence of lights indicative of atleast one interacting information toward the image capturing device. Thetoy element and the toy communication module are configured to allow auser to establish an interactive session with the client terminal.

Optionally, the client terminal is configured for establishing theinteractive session between a network node and the user via a computernetwork.

Optionally, the image capturing device is a webcam.

Optionally, the at least one toy element comprises a plurality of toyelements each having a body structure indicative of respective the atleast one interacting information.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method for transmitting playing information from afirst toy to a second toy. The method comprises allowing a physicalcontact between the first and second toys, vibrating the first toyaccording to playing information, detecting the vibrations by using thesecond toy, and obtaining the playing information from the detectedvibrations.

Optionally, the method further comprises vibrating the second toyaccording to the detected vibrations.

Optionally, the obtaining comprises forwarding the detected vibrationsto a client terminal, further comprising using the client terminal forreacting to the playing information.

Optionally, the physical contact is established via a mediating element,wherein the vibrating comprises vibrating the mediating element byvibrating the first toy, the detecting comprises detecting the physicalcontact vibrations.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms usedherein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art to which the present invention pertains. Althoughmethods and materials similar or equivalent to those described hereincan be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the presentinvention, exemplary methods and/or materials are described below. Incase of conflict, the patent specification, including definitions, willcontrol. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples areillustrative only and are not intended to be necessarily limiting.

Implementation of the method and/or system of embodiments of the presentinvention can involve performing or completing selected tasks manually,automatically, or a combination thereof. Moreover, according to actualinstrumentation and equipment of embodiments of the method and/or systemof the present invention, several selected tasks could be implemented byhardware, by software or by firmware or by a combination thereof usingan operating system.

For example, hardware for performing selected tasks according toembodiments of the present invention could be implemented as a chip or acircuit. As software, selected tasks according to embodiments of thepresent invention could be implemented as a plurality of softwareinstructions being executed by a computer using any suitable operatingsystem. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, one or moretasks according to exemplary embodiments of method and/or system asdescribed herein are performed by a data processor, such as a computingplatform for executing a plurality of instructions. Optionally, the dataprocessor includes a volatile memory for storing instructions and/ordata and/or a non-volatile storage, for example, a magnetic hard-diskand/or removable media, for storing instructions and/or data.Optionally, a network connection is provided as well. A display and/or auser input device such as a keyboard or mouse are optionally provided aswell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the present invention are herein described, by wayof example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Withspecific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed thatthe particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes ofillustrative discussion of embodiments of the present invention. In thisregard, the description taken with the drawings makes apparent to thoseskilled in the art how embodiments of the present invention may bepracticed.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary toy that communicateswith an exemplary client terminal which is connected to an exemplaryimage capturing device, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of functions which are performed by the toy andthe client terminal of FIG. 1 during a playing and/or learning session,according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts a schematic illustration of a toy for communicating witha client terminal computer, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a toy that wirelessly communicateswith a television set, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a reader device for wirelesslycommunicating with a television set, according to some embodiments ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating three toys that communicateby vibrating, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to toys and,more particularly, but not exclusively, to toys communication, such as acommunication between a toy and a client terminal.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, provides a toy forcommunicating with a client terminal, such as a personal computer, whichis connected to an image capturing device, such as a webcam. The toyencodes interacting information as flickering control instructions andsignals, using a light emitting unit, such as a light emitting diode(LED), the interacting information to the client terminal, eitherdirectly or via a network. As used herein interacting information meansone or more operational instructions, operating system (OS)instructions, playing information, such as a selection, a move, aquestion, an answer, and a learning reaction.

The client terminal captures the emitted light as an input, using animage capturing device, such as a webcam, and decodes the interactinginformation therefrom. Optionally, the decoded interacting informationis used for animating a figure which is displayed on the screen of theclient terminal. Optionally, the client terminal is connected to anetwork node, such as a remote server, and the decoded interactinginformation is forwarded thereto. In such an embodiment, the toy allowsthe user to communicate online with an application that is managed bythe network node and/or with an application that is installed on aremote computer, such as a computer which is operated by a parent of theuser.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, provides a systemfor using a toy with a reading element, for example as described inProvisional Patent Application Nos. 60/906,228 filed on Mar. 12, 2007and 60/906,227 filed on Mar. 12, 2007, which are incorporated herein byreference, to control a client terminal, such as a television (TV), adigital versatile disc (DVD) player, a compact disk (CD) player, aset-top box, a game console, a media center console and a mobiletelephone. For example, toys may used for reading labels, optionallyfrom a user friendly menu, which are indicative to a certain function ofthe client terminal, for example a certain TV channel or a certain TVset function, and the toy transmits respective information to the clientterminal, optionally using a transmitting element that is similar to thetransmitting element of the remote control thereof. In such anembodiment, the toy with the reading element may have an Infrared (IR)element that imitates the operation of a remote control.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the toy with the readingelement is used for operating basic operations in a personal computer,such as open a Microsoft Explorer™, open a Microsoft Messenger™,shutdown the personal computer, etc. The toy may be configured by a userfor operating certain operation, such as connect to a specific contactvia an Instant Message (IM) program and browse to a favorite website. Insuch an embodiment, the communication may be via a webcam that isconnected to the personal computer, optionally as outlined above anddescribed below.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, provides a methodfor transmitting playing information among toys. The method is used forallowing a communication between toys which are positioned in a physicalcontact and/or a physical proximity. First, one of the toys vibratesaccording to certain playing information, for example information thatis inputted by a user. Then, the vibrations are detected by one or moreother toys that obtain the playing information from the detectedvibrations. Such a method allows the emulation of a communicationsession between toys. One toy vibrates and the other reacts and so onand so forth, as further described below.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which is an exemplary toy system 100according to some embodiments of the present invention. The system 100includes one or more toys, for example as shown at 104. Optionally, theone or more toys are designed as an enduring, traditional form ofstuffed animals, such as a teddy bear 104, a doll, a dog, or as moldedplastic toys, such as a toy robot, a toy statue, an action figure or alike. The toy 104 comprises a signaling unit that is designed to encodeinteracting information and to signal the encoded interactinginformation via a light emitting unit, such as a LED, optionally asdescribed below.

The System 100 also includes a client terminal 114 such as a personalcomputer (PC), a workstation, a laptop. The toy 104 communicates withthe client terminal 114 by light signaling. The client terminal 114 isconnected to an image capturing device 110, such as a WEB-camera 112that captures the light that is emitted by the toys 104. Optionally, theclient terminal 114 is a mobile phone and the image capturing device 110is an integrated camera, such as a complementary metal oxidesemiconductor (CMOS)—based and/or charge coupled device (CCD) basedcamera.

Optionally, the client terminal 114 hosts a toy communication module 121which is designed for decoding the interacting information from theintercepted singling. Optionally, the client terminal 114 networks, viaa computer network 119, the captured blinking and/or the decodedinteracting information to a toy communication module 122 that isinstalled on one or more remote network nodes such as remote servers 116with a database 118. As the communication between the toy 104 and theclient terminal 114 may be performed using a common webcam or a commonmobile phone camera the user does not have to connect a designatedhardware to the client terminal 114. The toy 104 and an application thatmay be installed on the client terminal 114 or accessed via the computernetwork 119 optionally allows the user to establish an interactive gamesession and/or a learning session.

It should be noted that as the toy 104 is used for sending instructionsto applications which are installed and/or accessed by client terminalswith relatively high computational power, such as personal computersand/or server, an interactive session with graphics, voice and/or othermultimedia functions may be established without requiring theutilization of a toy with strong computational abilities. In such anembodiment, the computational power of the toy 104 may be relatively lowas the computation of most of the playing and/or learning session thatis established using the toy 104 and the client terminal 114 areperformed by the client terminal 114.

Optionally, the toy 104 comprises a microphone that is connected to anaudio processing module for allowing the toy 104 to receive instructionsfrom the client terminal 114. In such an embodiment, the toy 104 and theclient terminal 114 may establish an interactive playing session inwhich the toy 104 may react to voice instructions which are receivedfrom the client terminal 114. Optionally, the audio processing module isconnected a memory that hosts a plurality of records, each associatedwith a certain interacting information. In use, the client terminalencodes interacting information in an audio track, audible or inaudibleto a human user, and plays it. The audio processing module records ananalog signal that represents the played segment and decodes theinteracting information therein. In such an example, the analog audiosignal may be forwarded to an audio processor module that converts theanalog signal to a digital signal for processing. After processing, thedigital signal is matched with the records in the storage and used fortriggering a reaction of the toy, for example a set of blinking, asdescribed below, an activation of rotating and/or actuating units etc.Because this method of employing audio processor module requiresmultiple conversions between analog and digital formats, therebyincreasing complexity, cost, and power consumption of such a toy, thepersonal computer may encode simple and/or short audio signals.Optionally, the communication between the toy 103 and the clientterminal 114 allows the toy 104 to use the processor of the clientterminal 114 for performing computational tasks. In such an embodiment,the toy 103 may encode computational instructions which are performed bythe processor of the client terminal 114.

Reference is now also made to FIG. 2, which is a flowchart 400 depictingthe functions which are performed by the toy 104 and the client terminal114 during an exemplary playing and/or learning session, according tosome embodiments of the present invention. A user, such as a child, mayinteract with the toy 104. Optionally, the toy 104 has user interface(UI), such as a keypad or a joystick, that allows the user to instructthe toy 104 or any other receiving unit, such as a microphone,optionally as described above.

Accordingly, as shown at 401, 402 the toy 104 may initiates a learningand/or playing session with the client terminal 114 by encoding andblinking respective interacting information. As further described above,the client terminal 114 captures the interacting information 403,decodes the interacting information therefrom 404, and react with arespective action, for example by running a software, animating a figureon its display, playing a video clip, playing an audio clip, etc.

Optionally, the client terminal 114 provides instructions and/orguidance to the user. As described above, the toy 104 uses optionallyhas limited computing power. Accordingly, the need to protect processorsand/or memory from misuse by the user in such a toy 104 may be reduced.Also, the power used by the toy 104 can be reduced, prolonging batterylife of the toy 104.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the toy 104 mayhelp a user with reading and/or learning. Optionally, the toy 104 has aUI that allows the user to select a label with literal and/or pictorialsymbols from labels (not shown) which are attached to the toy 104 andpush or pull such labels. In such an embodiment, the toy 104 encodesinteracting information corresponds with the selected label as at leastone flickering control instruction and activates one or more of thelight emitting units 120 for emitting light that represents the encodedinteracting information toward client terminal 114. Now, the clientterminal 114 communicates with the toy 104, so that the toy 104 mayoutput the name of a symbol and/or a name of an animal or a plant, etc.In this sense, the toy 104 may appear to be useful to a child'slearning. In that case, a display (not shown) may also be incorporatedinto toys 104 to present the user with the words being read by the toy104. Therefore, the toy 104 may aid in the learning process of the userby teaching the user to read and/or learn new information and/orability.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the toy 104 maybe capable of holding intelligent conversation with the user by usingthe computing power of client terminal. In that case, the user may talkand the toy 104 captures the speech, encodes it, optionally using theaforementioned audio processing module, and transmits it by blinking toclient terminal 114. The client terminal 114 then plays a media fileand/or animation that response to user. Thus, if the user asks aquestion, the toy 104 may cause the client terminal to respond with arelated answer. Optionally, the client terminal 114 adjusts the playingsession according to the user answers and/or response time.

In another example, the toy 104 may facilitate translation of wordsspoken by a user. For example, a user may speak to the toy 104, whichcaptures the speech and communicates the captured speech to the clientterminal 114, optionally as described above.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the user say thewords “Thank you” to toy 104 that captures the phrase and communicatesthe captured phrase to client terminal 114 that parses it and identifiesa translation thereto. The client terminal 114 may communicate thetranslation back to the toy, and toy 104 may output the translations by,for example, responding with “Danke” means “thank you” in German.

Optionally, the client terminal 114 is designed to identify differenttoys. In such an embodiment, the user is provided with a kit thatincludes a plurality of toys, each having a different blinking pattern.In such a manner, the toy communication module 121 that is installed onthe client terminal 114 and/or on a remote server, as described above,may react according to the toy which is presented thereto. For example,the user receives a kit of toys, each shaped as a different animal andthe toy communication module 121 reacts in a manner reflects the animalthat the blinking thereof is captured by the image capturing device 112.Optionally, the image capturing device 112 captures a sequence of imagesof a number of blinking toys. As different toys may have differentblinking patterns the decoding of such an image may be used foridentifying a combination of toys. For example, the user presents theimage capturing device 112 with a number of toys simultaneously, such asa lion toy and a sheep toy, and the image capturing device maysimultaneously capture the a combination of blinking and decode it, andplay a respective media file, for example of an animation of a lion thatinteracts with a sheep. Optionally, the relative location of theblinking in the captured images is identified. In such a manner, the toycommunication module 121 may react according to the positioning of thetoys, for example according to the order thereof. For example, the usermay hold a toy having a body that is shaped as a dog and a toy having abody which is shaped as a bone and the toy communication module 121 mayplay a media file of barking and/or of wailing according to the distancebetween them.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the toycommunication module 121 may include an image processing sub-module forrecognition of faces, objects, colors, numbers, and the like.Optionally, the toy communication module 121 may be configured toidentify the face of the user in the captured image. The toycommunication module 121 may use the recognition for emulating aninteraction with the user, for instance, by playing the name of theuser. In an exemplary embodiment, the toy 104 is used for teaching theuser to recognize shapes, count objects, and/or becoming familiar withcolors and alike. Optionally, the toy communication module 121 is usedfor managing a playing session between the user and the toy 104. In suchan embodiment, the relative location of the user in relation to the toy104, a relative location of one or more of her limbs in relation to thetoy 104, and/or a gesture that is performed toward and/or with the toy104 are identified by analyzing the images which are captured by theimage capturing device 112 and used by the toy communication module 121to trigger a certain reaction. For example, the user may reach her handtoward a blinking toy with a body that is shaped as a dog; the toycommunication module 121 that identifies the gesture reacts by playing arelated media file, such as barking noise audio file.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, an interactionbetween a user and a toy, as shown at 104, may be proactive and/orreactive. For example, the toy 104 may serve as an alarming module,instructing the toy communication module 121 to play a media file thatinforms the user that it is time to get bed, do homework, and the like.The toy 104 may also proactively remind a user of the day'sappointments, birthdays of friends or relatives and alike. Thus, firstoutput may be provided, which is responsive to input to the toy, andclient terminal 114 can be programmed to proactively cause the toy 104to output second output to a user, e.g., an alarm or reminder.

Reference is now also made to FIG. 3, which is a schematic illustrationof an exemplary toy, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention. The toy 104 includes a body that is shaped as a dog, an lightemitting unit 120 for blinking interacting information to the clientterminal 114, a speaker 130 for communicating with the user, an audiovoice unit 123, such as a microphone, for recording and/or receivingaudio instructions, optionally, as described above, and a processor forprocessing visual and/or audio signals, according to some embodiments ofthe present invention.

Optionally, a button or other actuator (not shown) may be disposed onthe toy 104 to turn on the microphone 132.

Optionally, sounds or images detected by the input device 128 may belocally processed by the processor 134 of the toy 104 in order tofacilitate communication of the data to client terminal 114. Optionally,the processor 134 comprises a relatively simple controller.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which is a schematic illustration of atoy 150 that is used a remote control for operating an appliance 160,such as a TV, and a menu 156 that includes a plurality of labels,according to some embodiments of the present invention.

As outlined above, a toy, as shown at 150, or a reader device, as shownat 250 of FIG. 5, may be used for operating and/or interacting with theappliance and/or a client terminal, as shown at 114 above. The toy 150or the reader device 250 comprises a sensing unit 152, 251 for reading aunique machine-readable representation of the interacting informationfrom the label, a processing unit (not shown) for identifying theinteracting information according to the representation and atransmitting unit 154, 252 for transmitting the interacting informationto the appliance and/or the client terminal. Optionally, the readerdevice 250 is as described in Provisional Patent Application Nos.60/906,228 filed on Mar. 12, 2007 and 60/906,227 filed on Mar. 12, 2007,which are incorporated herein by reference.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the transmittingunit 154, 252 includes an IR and/or radio frequency (RF) transmitter fortransmitting IR and/or RF signals to the appliance and/or the clientterminal. The IR and/or RF transmitter transmits the IR and/or RFsignals 158 that emulates the signals of the remote control of theappliance, for example the remote control of a TV, a CD player, a settop box, a DVD player, a heater, an air conditioner, and/or the remotecontrol of a garage door and/or a kitchen appliance, such as a microwaveoven. For example, a user may use a label of the menu that depicts acertain food product to select a set of instructions that instructs themicrowave oven to heat the certain food product.

In some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the IR and/or RFtransmitter 154 transmits IR and/or RF signals of a remote control of aTV set. In such an embodiment, the menu 156 includes uniquemachine-readable representations of TV channels and/or TV functions. Inuse, the user uses the toy 150 or the reader device 250 for reading acertain unique machine-readable representation, such as a label, forexample a label of FoxKids™ channel and/or “increase volume” and the IRand/or RF transmitter 154 emulates the action of the remote control ofthe TV and transmits IR and/or RF signals instruct the TV to zap toFoxKids™ channel and/or to increase the volume of the played media.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the toy 150 is used fornavigating in a playing and/or learning show that is recorded on mediawith tagged segments, such as a CD, DVD, and tagged video on demand(VOD) program. The toy may be configured by a user for operating certainnavigating between the tagged sections. The menu may include uniquemachine-readable representations of tagged section and the user may usethe toy for selecting them and for instructing a console, such as a CDplayer, a DVD player, a gaming console, and/or a set-top box, tonavigate to a respective segment. For example, the user may use a menuthat includes machine-readable representations of segments of a learningDVD for navigation. The DVD optionally stores segments, each of aquestion, an answer, a reaction, a negative reaction, and/or hint forsolving a question. The user uses the toy for selecting an answer fromthe menu and the toy instructs the DVD player to navigate to a segmentthat represents a respective reaction to the user selection. Forexample, the DVD player may play a segment that includes a videosequence of a figure asking a question, such as “how much is 2+4” andthe user can use the toy to read one or more respective labels thatrepresent her answer.

Optionally, the toy 150 and the menu 156 are used for allowing the userto participate in an interactive gaming session that is held on aninteractive channel, such as Sky Gamestar™ or an interactive channelthat is held on a cellular phone. In such an embodiment, the toy 150and/or the menu 156 may be adjusted according to the content providerthat provides the interactive gaming session in the interactive channel.For example, a content provider, such as Sky Gamestar™, may sell and/orprovide the toy 150 and/or the menu 156 as a sale promoter for a certaininteractive gaming session. When the user uses the toy 150 and/or themenu 156 for participating in an interactive gaming session, asdescribed above, the content provider may charge the user and/or herparents for the participation in the interactive gaming session.Optionally, the user may print the menu 156 from a website and/or updatethe toy by connecting it to the client terminal.

Optionally, the toy has a universal serial bus (USB) socket and/or amemory card reader for reading content that is stored in memory cards.The memory cards are optionally solid-state electronic flash memory datastorage devices, such as CompactFlash™ cards, SmartMedia™ cards, MemoryStick™ cards, Secure Digital™ cards, miniSD™ cards, and/or MicroSD™cards. Optionally, the USB socket and/or the memory card reader allowthe updating of the memory of the toy 150. Optionally, the toy 150 mayhost a file that stores the menu 150 and the user may connect the toy150 to the computer for uploading the file and/or for printing the menu156.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the toy communicationmodule 121 allows the user to create a menu and to associate its labelswith different transmissions. In such a manner, the user may adjust thetoy 150 to operate a certain appliance and/or to activate a selectedinteractive gaming session in a predefined manner.

Reference is now also made, one again, to FIG. 1. According to someembodiments of the present invention, the transmitting unit 154 is theaforementioned light emitting unit and the communication is done byblinking interacting information to the client terminal 114, optionally,as described above with regard to the toy which is shown at 104. In someexemplary embodiments of the present invention, the transmitting unit154 activates the light emitting unit to emulate basic computer actions,such as “start a program”, “increase volume”, “activate player”, “openbrowser”, “connect to the internet”, “press enter”, “press space”, andthe like. In some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, themenu 156 depicts an enlarged and/or decorated keyboard and thetransmitting unit 154 activates the light emitting unit to emulatepressing respective keys of the emulated keyboard. In such anembodiment, the user may use the toy for learning how to use a keyboardand/or for recognizing the letters of the alphabet. Optionally, such anenlarged keyboard and a toy are used by short-sighted users that havedifficulties to see the keys of a regular keyboard. Optionally, such themenu 156 and the toy 154 may be used for as input device that allows theuser to type letters and/or emails is a client terminal, such as amobile phone. In such an embodiment, the menu 156 includes uniquemachine-readable representations of basic functions and/or preprogrammedfunctions. In use, the user uses the toy 150 or the reader device 250for reading a certain unique machine-readable representation, such as alabel, for example a label of Microsoft Explorer™ and/or “FoxKids™website” and the light emitting unit blinks accordingly a set ofblinking that is recorded by the image capturing device 112 and decodedby the toy communication module 121, optionally as described above.

As described above, the toy 104 is configured to participate in a gamesession with a toy communication module that is installed on the remoteserver 116. In such an embodiment, the toy 104 may serve as an UI forinteracting with remotely located client terminals which are connectedto the network 119. In some embodiments of the present invention, thetoy 104 reports information obtained from one or more remote networknodes, such as website servers. For example, a user may announce “Whatis the weather forecast for today?”, press a respective button, and/orread a respective label using the sensing unit 152 and the toy 104 mayblink with a respective blinking pattern to the toy communication modulethat accesses a respective website and/or database via the network 140for acquiring the related data. Upon retrieving the local forecast,client terminal 114 supplies that information to the toy 104, whichanswers the user's question.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which is a schematic illustration ofthree exemplary toys 164 which are designed to communicate by vibratingand a client terminal 167 that is connected to one of them, according tosome embodiment of the present invention. In such embodiments, two ormore toys may receive and transmit messages by vibrations. For example,one of the toys 166 may vibrate in a certain pattern for indicating onan emulated state, such as “hungry”, and another toy may intercept thevibrations and decode them to reconstruct the emulated state which isencoded in the vibration. In such a manner, the intercepting toy mayreact to the vibrations by playing a related media file, actuating acertain element, and/or transmitting a respective message to the clientterminal 167.

Optionally, each one of the toys 164 includes a body in the form of astuffed-animal, a doll, an object, an action figure, or any other shape,a processor which is connected to a memory (not shown), one or morevibrating elements 165, such as a piezoelectric transducer based unit,and a vibration detection element 166 for detecting vibration patterns,such as piezoelectric devices and/or accelerometers responsive tolocalized motion. Example embodiments of other vibration elements 165are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,019,622, issued on Mar. 28, 2006, whichis incorporated herein by reference.

In an exemplary embodiment, the memory comprises instructions forvibrating patterns of the vibrating elements which are associated withinterfacing information. The processor activates the vibrating elements165 according to the one or more of the vibrating patterns which areoptionally selected by the user and/or as a response to a vibration thatis detected by the vibration detection element 166. The vibratingpatterns which are stored in the memory, and/or other vibrating patternswhich are stored in the memory may be used for identifying interactinginformation that is encoded in the detected vibrations.

Optionally, the toy 164 is designed to communicate with a clientterminal toy that is connected to a client terminal, as shown at 167,for example via a wired connection, such as a USB connection and/orFirewire™ connection, or wireless connection such as Wi-Fi™ and/orBluetooth™ connection. In such a manner, the user may couple the toy 164to the client terminal toy and transmit the interfacing information,such as described above, to a toy communication module, for example asdescribed above with regard to FIG. 1, which is hosted on and/oraccessed by the client terminal.

Optionally, the toy 164 is designed to communicate with another toy 164via a mediating element, such as a table, a surface, and/or a designatedelement such as a vibratable toy element. In such an embodiment, thecommunicating toys can be remotely located from one another and tocommunicate by transferring vibration signals via the mediating element,

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction withspecific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives,modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in theart. Accordingly it is intended to embrace all such alternatives,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scopeof the appended claims.

All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification are herein incorporated in their entirety by referenceinto the specification, to the same extent as if each individualpublication, patent or patent application was specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. Inaddition, citation or identification of any reference in thisapplication shall not be construed as an admission that such referenceis available as prior art to the present invention. To the extent thatsection headings are used, they should not be construed as necessarilylimiting.

1. A method for using a toy for communicating with a client terminal,comprising: a) encoding at least one interacting information as at leastone flickering control instruction; and b) using a toy element having alight emitting unit for emitting light according to said at least oneflickering control instruction, thereby transmitting said interactinginformation to a client terminal; wherein said client terminal isconfigured for capturing said emitted light using an image capturingdevice and decoding said at least one interacting information therefrom.2. The method of claim 1, wherein said toy element having a structureindicative of said at least one interacting information.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein said toy is a member of a group consisting of aplurality of toys, each said toys being indicative of differentinteracting information.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingreading a unique machine-readable representation of the interactinginformation from a label before said a).
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein said client terminal is a personal computer, said interactinginformation comprises a member selected from a group consisting of: abasic operation, an operating system operation, and a preprogrammedoperation, said client terminal is configured for executing said memberafter said b).
 6. A method for using a reading device for communicatingwith an appliance, comprising: a) using the reading device for reading aunique machine-readable representation associated with an appliancefunction and a visible indication associated with said function; b)encoding at least one instruction indicative of said appliance function;and c) wirelessly transmitting said at least one instruction to theappliance, thereby instructing the appliance to execute said appliancefunction.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said at least oneinstruction is a flickering control instruction, said transmittingcomprising emitting light according to said flickering controlinstruction.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein said appliance isselected from a group consisting of a personal computer (PC), atelevision (TV), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a compact disk (CD), aset-top box, a game console, a media center console, a mobile telephone,a heater, an air conditioner, a garage door, and a kitchen appliance. 9.The method of claim 6, wherein said wirelessly transmitting emulates aremote control transmission.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein saidvisible indication is a graphic icon depicting said function.
 11. Themethod of claim 6, further comprising presenting a challenge to a userbefore said a), wherein said appliance function is directing saidappliance to present a reaction to said challenge.
 12. The method ofclaim 6, wherein said reading comprises reading said uniquemachine-readable representation from a menu comprising a plurality ofmachine-readable representations associated with a plurality ofappliance functions.
 13. The method of claim 6, wherein said pluralityof machine-readable representations associated with keys of a keyboard,said instructing comprises typing respective said keys.
 14. The methodof claim 6, wherein the appliance is at least one of a television, acellular phone and a set top box, said appliance function is selectedfrom a group consisting of: changing a television channel, turning onsaid television, turning off said television, increasing the volume ofsaid television, playing in an interactive gaming session, andparticipating in an interactive learning session.
 15. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the appliance is a player of a media comprising aplurality of tagged segments, said appliance function is selecting atagged segment to be played by said player.
 16. A toy for communicatingwith a client terminal, comprising: a body; a user interface configuredfor allowing a user to select at least one interacting information; amemory configured for hosting at least one flickering controlinstruction associated with said at least one interacting information;and a light emitting unit configured for instructing a client terminalhaving an image capturing device by emitting light according to said atleast one flickering control instruction toward said image capturingdevice.
 17. The toy of claim 16, wherein said body is a structureselected from a group consisting of: a stuffed-animal doll, a human-likedoll, a toy shaped doll, and an action figure doll.
 18. The toy of claim16, wherein said user interface comprises a voice recording unitconfigured intercepting an audio signal representing said interactinginformation.
 19. The toy of claim 16, wherein said user interface is asensing unit configured for reading a machine-readable representation ofsaid interacting information from the label.
 20. The toy of claim 16,wherein said image capturing device is a webcam.
 21. The toy of claim18, wherein said client terminal is connected to a remote server via acomputer server, said client terminal being configured for forwardingsaid instructions to said client terminal.
 22. A game kit for allowing aplayer to use a toy for communicating with a client terminal,comprising: a toy communication module configured for execution on aclient terminal associated with an image capturing device; and at leastone toy element configured for emitting at least one sequence of lightsindicative of at least one interacting information toward said imagecapturing device; wherein said toy element and said toy communicationmodule are configured to allow a user to establish an interactivesession with said client terminal.
 23. The game kit of claim 22, whereinsaid client terminal is configured for establishing said interactivesession between a network node and said user via a computer network. 24.The game kit of claim 22, wherein said image capturing device is awebcam.
 25. The game kit of claim 22, wherein said at least one toyelement comprises a plurality of toy elements each having a bodystructure indicative of respective said at least one interactinginformation.
 26. A method for transmitting playing information from afirst toy to a second toy, comprising: allowing a physical contactbetween the first and second toys; vibrating the first toy according toplaying information; detecting said vibrations by using said second toy;and obtaining said playing information from the detected vibrations. 27.The method of claim 26, further comprising vibrating the second toyaccording to said detected vibrations.
 28. The method of claim 26,wherein said obtaining comprises forwarding said detected vibrations toa client terminal, further comprising using said client terminal forreacting to said playing information.
 29. The method of claim 26,wherein said physical contact is established via a mediating element,wherein said vibrating comprises vibrating said mediating element byvibrating the first toy, said detecting comprises detecting saidphysical contact vibrations.